Beethoven

I was listening to one of my favourite pieces of music - Beethoven's 7th Symphony. The 2nd movement (or part of it, I should say) is soft and melodious and very relaxing.
The symphony was written in 1803 which was 2 years after Beethoven's deafness had started to manifest itself. What would it be like to have such a passion and talent for music and then lose your hearing? I am fascinated at how he could still hear the music in his mind and heart after the hearing had gone. It inspires me to think that he continued to create and to use his talent despite the limits placed on him. He was not handicapped at all musically..... well, except that I wonder if he would still have pitched the choral parts to "Ode to joy" quite so high if he was still hearing...